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I'm guessing it allows streaming of Steam games from your PC. Which wouldn't require vast hardware. That along with all the media streaming and perhaps installable 'GabeCube' compatable indie games, it looks pretty neat.

I'm guessing it allows streaming of Steam games from your PC. Which wouldn't require vast hardware. That along with all the media streaming and perhaps installable 'GabeCube' compatable indie games, it looks pretty neat.

Here are the specifics they mentioned on their failed Kickie (for the X7A model):

Originally Posted by Xi3 Kickstarter

The X7A Modular Computer from Xi3

As we envision our new X7A Modular Computer, we see it powered by a new Quad-Core 64-bit, x86-based processor running at up to 3.2GHz, integrated with up to 384 graphics shader cores, and 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and able to handle graphics-rich computer games like Crysis 2 with ease. The X7A Modular Computer will also run 3 high-definition monitors simultaneously, has four USB 3.0/2.0 ports, four eSATAp ports, four USB 2.0 ports, a 10/100/1000 Ethernet port, and up to 1TB of super fast solid-state storage inside the chassis, making it perfect for gamers and power users alike. And yet the X7A Modular Computer will be housed in a chassis about the size of a softball (4.27x3.65x3.65-inches) and run on a mere 40Watts of electricity or less.

We expect the X7A Modular Computer to begin shipping in early 2013 with a price starting at under $1,000. All within a chassis you can hold in the palm of your hand!

I'll wait to see if Valve officially endorse it before I go "This is what I was trying to tell you about" because in another thread last year someone was telling me that I was an idiot for believing that Valve would want their own SteamBox.

Anyway there's no way this will be overly powerful. It'll either be for indie games or as Rossi suggested just a small box to stream to, at which point you might as well not have it. I can just tell by the size of the unit that it hasn't got overly powerful hardware under the hood.

I know they're calling it modular, but from what I can see of it, this is one of the least modular computers available. If I want, I can go out right now, hell even online and replace my graphics or ram or whatever else I want. With this steambox, it looks like I can maybe replace or add in an SSD.

If my psu breaks, I replace it. If my HDD breaks, I replace it. If my graphics card breaks I replace it. If anything breaks in the xi3 I probably have to send it off for repair.

Even then it's not clear exactly what it's supposed to do. It's too small for it to have any decent hardware so either it'll only be playing indie games (which I don't think is reason enough to get it) or it's just a glorified streaming client (and I don't think any of us want that).

So you guys actually thought that the "steam computer" project was something that was aimed at gamers to replace the desktop? Silly you then. Making pc gaming accessible to "normal" people isn't supposed to produce anything of interest to those of us who build their own rigs.

Even then it's not clear exactly what it's supposed to do. It's too small for it to have any decent hardware so either it'll only be playing indie games (which I don't think is reason enough to get it) or it's just a glorified streaming client (and I don't think any of us want that).

I think they'll try make it so that it'll compete with consoles. As jnx said, the steambox isn't for us. It's for console gamers. It's for big picture, controller and console level graphics and gameplay, not for those of us who demand higher resolution, higher textures and more fps than we can shake a stick at.

It's unlikely it's going to be "off the shelf" and it's going to be customized to what Steam are looking for.

I think they'll try make it so that it'll compete with consoles. As jnx said, the steambox isn't for us. It's for console gamers. It's for big picture, controller and console level graphics and gameplay, not for those of us who demand higher resolution, higher textures and more fps than we can shake a stick at.

It's unlikely it's going to be "off the shelf" and it's going to be customized to what Steam are looking for.

Look at it - it doesn't even seem to be capable of that. It's tiny, they're not going to be running PC games even at 720p at 30FPS. Unless they happen to be indie games, and even then I doubt that's such a big drawcard that this is going to shift units. Either that thing is going to be woefully underpowered or it uses dark magic from apostate tech priests. A decent GPU would not fit inside that thing, it'd cook itself, let alone a matching CPU.

Look at it - it doesn't even seem to be capable of that. It's tiny, they're not going to be running PC games even at 720p at 30FPS. Unless they happen to be indie games, and even then I doubt that's such a big drawcard that this is going to shift units. Either that thing is going to be woefully underpowered or it uses dark magic from apostate tech priests. A decent GPU would not fit inside that thing, it'd cook itself, let alone a matching CPU.

It looks a little around the same size as a gamecube. It's made smaller by virtue of no moving parts.

This is what the Xi3's beefiest model contains

Originally Posted by CNET

The project that Xi3 is working on for Valve is code named Piston. Xi3's own higher-end 7 Series system will form the basis for Piston, but the company says that the specs and the final look of the product will be different than its existing product. For what it's worth, the Xi3 7 Series is based on AMD's R-Series APUs, which are quad core processing chips that go up to 3.2GHz, with AMD's 384 core Radeon HD 7660G graphics core built-in. The Series 7 supports up to 8GB of RAM, and can output video at resolutions as high as 4,096x2,160 from a system thatrequires only 40 watts of power and measures only 4.27x3.66x3.66-inches cubed.

As I said, it's not going to run crysis at 120 million fps, but it doesn't have to. It has to run AssCreed 3, the next GTA and the next CoD at respectable fps and smoothness. At 30fps you're pleasing the consolers, more than that and you're likely to start winning some of the hearts of PC fans who will accept a frame and graphics drop.

I remember reading an interview with someone at this company a year or two ago who mentioned they wanted to offer every component including video cards in this small form factor so you could potentially build a fairly decent machine if you stacked enough cubes together. It's a cool idea, and certainly makes building your own pc more accessible for the masses.

Originally Posted by jnx

So you guys actually thought that the "steam computer" project was something that was aimed at gamers to replace the desktop? Silly you then. Making pc gaming accessible to "normal" people isn't supposed to produce anything of interest to those of us who build their own rigs.

Bingo. Kinda surprised by the amount of pc gamers who seem to want to replace their desktops with a console-like Steambox "if the specs are right".

Theres also another issue, PC Gaming is a hobbyist pursuit. Building the PC, getting it working and tweaking it is all part of the PC Gaming experience for many people. I'd hate it if a single all singing all dancing box, even if its from one of the most revered PC gaming companies, came a long and basically told us that all our efforts are for nothing.

Well it will really be going not steams, but smokes after all the dust sets in it. Honestly specs are partly mindblowing to me, that thing is smaller than my first ffs.
It might be better than current gen consoles, but it will have to improve a lot, if it wants to compete with next gen.